carter



R. J. CARTER 2,733,049

CASING AND MOUNTING ASSEMBLY FOR CONVECTOR HEATERS Jan. 31, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 14, 1953 INVENTOR. Rolfierfl CQIj'QJ",

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R. J. CARTER Jan. 31, 1956 CASING AND MOUNTING ASSEMBLY FOR CONVECTOR HEATERS Filed Au 14, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent CASING AND MOUNTING ASSEMBLY FOR CONVECTOR HEATERS Robert J. Carter, Kenmore, N. Y., assignor to The Rittling Corp., Hamburg, N. Y.

Application August 14, 1953, Serial No. 374,228

6 Claims. (Cl. 257-133) This invention relates toa casing and mounting bracket for baseboard convectors, and it has. particular reference to the provision of a casing which may be readily installed to receive supporting brackets at any desired location, and also to receive a damper which may be detachably installed without the use of special tools or connecting means.

One of'the known heat exchange devices employed to heat aroom consists of one or more pipes or tubes, provided'with spaced fins, which is mounted. just above the floor, or at the baseboard region, and which is connected to the central heating plant to receive hot water or steam. The air in the room circulates around the tubes and fins by natural draft, and these devices are therefore called convectors, or baseboard or wall heat exchangers, by reference to the location. 'It is also customary to provide a casing of some sort to more or less enclose the convector, provision being made to admit air underneath the tubing for circulation through openings thereabove. It has also been proposed to include dampers which may be opened or closed either above or below the finned heating surface, in order to regulate the flow of air, and therefore the transfer of heat.

Heretofore, the general practice has been to support the tubing upon brackets which were nailed to the wall at intervals corresponding to the stud spacing, and which projected forwardly to engage between adjacent fins. This method of assembly not only involves time in locating the studding, but also frequently causes interference with the fins of the convector. Other problems which have been encountered pertain to the proper location of the brackets above the floor line, and facility of access to the finned surface for occasional cleaning while at the same time protecting the convector from unintended exposure and damage.

These and other problems are minimized by the present invention, wherein there is provided a casing member adapted to receive bracket elements which may be located at any desired positions with respect to the finned tubing, and which are firmly and frictionally retained within the main section of the casing. The casing construction, by means of which the brackets are located, moreover is such as to retain by friction a hinged damper, and the brackets in turn provide a mounting for a front cover member, which may be positioned by snapping it in place, and which may be removed for cleaning purposes when sufiicient disengaging force is applied thereto. The construction moreover provides for an efficient flow of air over the tubing and fins, and it also has a pleasing appearance which harmonizes with various styles of interior decoratmg.

These and other advantages will be made apparent in detail from the following description of a typical embodiment of the invention, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein: I

Fig. 1 is a perspective of the convector and casing installed along the walls of a room, the dampers and corner plates being omitted;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevation;

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective of a mounting bracket;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective of a damper; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary section through the back portion of the casing and the room wall.

As shown in Fig. 1, the convector comprises tubing 11 on which is positioned a plurality of spaced fins 12, and the convector is positioned in the room at the junction of a wall 13 and the floor 14, or adjacent the baseboard region. The ends of the tubing are connected to supply and return lines for the heating medium, as is well understood. According to the present invention, the convector is partially enclosed in a two part casing, comprising a main back plate 15 and a front cover plate 16. These may be made in a variety of standardized lengths and assembled end to end, or cut to size on the job when an odd dimension is encountered.

Referring primarily to Figs. 2 and 3, the back plate 15 includes a substantially plane upright section 17 formed at intervals with small dimples 18, which suificiently weaken the metal that they may be driven through with a punch or nail to receive nails or screws 19 for securing the plate 15 to the wall 13. The lower portion of the plate 15 curves outwardly, as indicated by the reference numeral 21, and it terminates in a short upturned flange or toe 22. It will be seen that the plate 15 rests on the floor at the abrupt junction of the curved portion 21 and the flange 22, and the plate is of such height that this contact with the floor automatically positions the convector the correct distance above the floor. Special gages or measurements to determine the correct elevation are therefore not required, and the labor of installation accordingly is minimized.

The upper end of the back section 17 merges into a forwardly extending, substantially horizontal cap 23, which in turn merges into an angularly disposed and downwardly inclined portion 24, the forward margin of which is curved to provide an arcuate reentrant lip 25. The lip 25 and the toe 22 provide retainers for a plurality of brackets 26, shown in perspective in Fig. 4.

These brackets are formed from sheet metal blanks which are stamped to provide a substantially plane back portion 27 which is curved at its lower end tov substantially the same radius as the curved portion 21 of the back casing 15, as indicated by the reference numeral 28. The square cut lower edge 29 may then abut the inner surface (I the toe 22 when the bracket is assembled in the casing forwardly and downwardly, on a radius and to such an extent that, when thebracket is installed in the casing 15, the curved portion 31 is tangent to the casing portion 24, 2d the upper edge 32 abuts the inner surface of the lip The bracket 26 is given additional strength by forming it with a rib 33. Apertures 34 are also formed in the rib 33, and while these may, on occasion, receive nails which penetrate through the dimples 18 and into the wall 13, it should be made clear that their primary function is to locate the bracket blank during the forming operations. Nailing the brackets in place is not necessary for their firm positioning in the casing. One long edge of the bracket is formed with a substantially right angled forwardly projecting arm 35, provided with a notch 36 which extends inwardly from oppositely tapered front edges 37 and 38, the ends of which are formed with rounded fingers 39 and 41.

The parts are so dimensioned that the brackets 26 may be inserted in the casing 15 by engaging the upper edge snapping the lower edge 29 over the flange 22, the resiliency of the metal permitting this action. The brackets may then be slid or tapped with a block of wood to locate The upper'end 31 of the back portion 27 is curved after the latter is positioned, 32 within the lip 25, and then them at appropriate intervals. Sections of the fin and tube convector may then be mounted on the brackets by engaging the arms 35 between adjacent fins 12 and sliding the tubing 11 against the bottom of the notch 36. In this position, as best shown in Fig. 2, the fins 12 practically abut the rib 33, but are slightly spaced inwardly from the front edges 37 and 38.

It will be readily apparent that the brackets 26 may be shifted to avoid interference with the fins 12, that they require no nails to retain them in place, and that the brackets and casing 15 mutually reinforce each other. particularly to prevent collapse of the top portion of the casing 15. 'It will also be apparent that, once the brackets are positioned and the convector is installed, the brackets are practically fixedly positioned, although they can, of course, be pried out with some difliculty if the need should arise. The front cover 16 is formed with like curved edges 44 and 45, either one of which can be positioned over the upper finger 39, while the other may then be snapped over the lower finger 41, thus completing the casing assembly. Here again, the frictional engagement is suflicient to resist displacement or removal except by someone who has a definite purpose in detaching the front cover sections. The spacing of the front edges of the fins 12 from the cover 16 accommodates normal expansion effects, and the slight taper of the front edges 37 and 33 of the arm 35 facilitates the positioning of the cover 16.

Damper members 51, shown in Fig. 5, are also provided to be assembled by snap action within the casing 15. These comprise slightly bowed and resilient clips 52 having a curved front end 53 adapted to be positioned within the lip 25, and an angular back edge 54 which can be wedged into the junction between the upright casing wall 17 and the top section 23. The flexing and stressing of the clips during this operation forces the edge 54 tightly against the casing portion 17, thereby frictionally retaining the clips in place. Each clip 52 has a hinge leaf 55 welded or otherwise secured to its lower side, a short distance from the curved end 53, to which is pinned a hinge leaf 56, in turn connected to a damper plate 57. The free edge 58 of the plate 57 is curved inwardly for added strength and better appearance.

It will be seen that the damper plate 57 can be swung through an arc of substantially ninety degrees, being limited by contact with the brackets 26 and the front cover 16. The hinge leaves are pinned together with sufiicient friction that the bar 57 will remain in any position in which it is placed. Complete closure of the damper, or to the dotted line position of Fig. 3, materially reduces the air flow and heat transfer, while in the fully open position there is substantially no interference with air flow, and the heat transfer may reach a maximum.

It will accordingly be seen that the invention provides a novel supporting and enclosing casing for fin and tube heat exchangers, wherein the parts may be readily interconnected by snap and wedging actions. While the invention has been described with respect to a single embodiment, it is intended to encompass all those modifications and variations which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A casing assembly for heat exchangers comprising a casing member having a substantially plane portion formed with a toe along one edge and a forwardly projecting portion spaced from the too; said projecting portion terminating in an inturned lip, and a bracket member frictionally positioned in said casing member, said bracket member having a substantially flat portion positioned against, the plane portion of the casing member and also having an edge positioned in the toe of said casing member, said bracket member also having a forwardly bent portion spaced from said edge and snugly positioned within the lip of the casingmember, and a forwardly projecting arm on the bracket member intermediate said edge and said bent portion, said arm being formed with a notch to receive an element of a heat exchanger.

2. A casing assembly as set forth in claim 1, wherein tize arm of the bracket member is formed wtih spaced fingers on the front edge thereof, and a front cover plate formed with curved edges positioned over said fingers and firmly retained thereby.

3. A casing assembly for tube type heat exchangers comprising a casing member having a substantially plane back section, a forwardly bent and upturned flange along one edge of the back section, said back section merging into a forwardly extending top portion spaced from the upturned flange, the outer edge of the top portion being iiivardly bent to provide a lip, a plurality of bracket members positioned in said casing member, said bracket members having spaced bottom and top edges respectively engaging in said casing member flange and lip, thereby to firmly retain the bracket members and permit forced sliding movement thereof lengthwise of the casing member, a tube supporting arm secured to each bracket member and formed with means to support a tube element of a heat exchanger and with supporting means for a front cover plate, a front cover plate on said supporting means, said plate being spaced from said lip to provide an air gap, and a damper member mounted within the casing member, said damper member being formed with a pinrality of resilient clips having ends adapted to frictionally engage within said lip and at the junction of the back section and top portion, said damper member including a damper plate and interconnected hinge elements between the damper plate and the clips, said damper plate being adapted to be swung to positions substantially closing and opening the gap between the lip and the-front cover plate.

4. A casing for a wall type heat exchanger comprising a casing member having a back portion adapted to be secured to a wall and a top portion projecting forwardly from the back portion, said top portion being formed with a bend, a toe formed along the bottom of the back portion, and a supporting bracket for a heat exchanger frictionally retained in the casing between said toe and said bend, said bracket having a back section positioned adjacent the back portion of the casing, a bottom edge disposed in said toe, and a forwardly bent top portion engaged in said bend, said bracket also having an arm extending forward from the back section thereof, said arm terminating at top and bottom in spaced relation to said toe and top portion of said casing member, thereby to provide air circulation gaps.

5. A casing as set forth in claim 4, wherein the front corners of the bracket arm are formed with projecting fingers, and a front cover having curved edges positioned over said fingers and firmly retained thereby.

6. A casing for a wall type heat exchanger comprising a casing member having a back portion adapted to be secured to a wall and a top portion projecting forwardly from the back portion, said top portion terminating in an inwardly curved lip, the bottom edge of the back portion being formed with a flange, a bracket positioned in said casing member and having a bottom edge engaged in said flange and a forwardly curved portion terminating in a front edge abutting said lip and firmly retained thereby, said curved portion of the bracket contacting the top portion of the casing member, thereby to support the same, and a supporting arm formed on said bracket between and spaced from the bottom and front edges thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,460,625 Ellis Feb. 1, 1949 2,651,504 Gundrum et al. Sept. 8, 1953 2,662,747 Trane et al. Dec. 15, 1953 

